Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Because my sister is sick of the bird photo

I was going to look around for a story to post instead of more photos, but I'm dashing out the door and these were at hand. The allium, that large purple ball, popped up in my garden out of nowhere. Any ideas how that got in there? The others are forget-me-not, lily-of-the-valley, and a dogwood branch at my front door.

I just got an AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens for my D200 and I love it. I'm still learning how to use my camera, let alone the two lenses I use (the other is an 18-200mm, which is a lovely all-purpose lens) and I've yet to venture off of auto, much to the annoyance of my camera club buddies. They wag their fingers at me every week and tell me to gird my loins and try new things.

Btw, Donna, it was you who told me to shoot portraits in northern light or in the shade and most of my flower pics are done that way. I get a lovely soft light, and if I need to give it a boost, I can do it with Picasa2 and Fill Light.

I stopped by for a visit and found this surprise again.Great images Pamela. You are getting better and better.Don’t you just love the macro? Opens up the whole new world for you.My favourite is #2. I like those beautiful curves and how they lead your eye to the meeting point where they interestingly overlap. If only that point could be sharper, it would be perfect. I also love the #4, great colors and seamless soft background. #3 has great color harmony. Just wondering if on #5 you could include the green background behind the whole flower. I think that would be nice. And great cropping again on all images again.

Just a few days more of flies and you’ll be free exploring again…so hold on.

You are absolutely right in all cases. Now, I know the muguet leaves should be more in focus - I was concentrating on the water droplet. As you know (and what makes my fellow camera club enthusiasts whack their foreheads) I'm still using the Auto settings. I know there is a way to get everything in focus, but I'm not sure how.

Let's see....I think I have to switch to Aperture Priority and use a bigger value, like f/16 or f/32, to maximize my depth of field. Off to try.

Yes, small aperture (say 16 and smaller) will help to widen the range of which things will stay in focus.But that will cut the exposure light considerably, so you got to use the tripod. I think your camera should have a depth of field preview button, that can be helpful to check how things look like through the aperture you set. Not a very easy feature to use because sometimes you can't see a darn thing in your viewfinder, but let the eye adjust for a while. So next time you go out, put your camera to Aperture priority and try different values, you'll be surprised what different effects you can get.

But Pam, what's important is that you got a creative eye, the technical stuff will come later...It's better than the other way around. And you don't even have the Photoshop yet. Your photo buddies at the Club will be impressed comes September.

About Me

A Novel Woman, AKA Pamela Patchet, was unwittingly born and raised in Toronto instead of Paris. She worked her way from A&W carhop to political advisor to advertising executive where, on any given day, she was called upon to soothe disgruntled clients, cajole temperamental artists, juggle multi-million dollar budgets or locate trained penguins for television commercials. She married a handsome dentist for love and a lifetime of free dental care, raised three kids, and established a freelance writing career, not unlike her earlier jobs, minus the penguins.